A Quick SEO Checklist to Get You Started

SEO is not a simple process, let’s get that right from the start. It is a demanding set of different tasks that need to be carried out on a continuous basis. In other words, SEO is not a one-time task. It is on ongoing process even once when you get where you want to be – you still need to maintain it. To start off on the right track, we compiled a quick SEO checklist that will come in handy!

Have you installed Google Analytics?

Being one of the most systematic tools for analyzing traffic, Google Analytics is used by probably all websites that are working on their SEO. The reason behind that is simple! Not only it is a free tool, but it also gives you valuable information about the traffic on your website, the region that your visitors are in, even what sources they are coming to your website through. Google Analytics is a must-have, which is why is on top of our SEO checklist!

Have you set up Google Search Console?

If you have been in the SEO world for longer, you might know this tool by another name – Webmaster Tools. Google Console Search is another free tool by Google that found its way to our SEO checklist that will give you a lot of information about your website and its performance in the organic search results. It will alert you via email when there are indexing issues (like 404 errors) or if your website is detected by Google SafeBrowsing.

Have you installed a SEO plug-in?

This goes mostly for those of you who use WordPress as your website platform. The reason why WordPress became the platform of preference for many people is because it is really easy to use and modify, and those plugins really come in handy. Having a SEO plugin, such as Yoast SEO for WordPress, will help you out optimize and analyze your pages and content with an ease. One such plugin is on the SEO checklist of all WordPress users.

Have you checked your website for technical errors?

Technical errors do happen, and you need to make sure you eliminate things like duplicate content, missing titles, crawl errors etc. While you can do some of that manually, the easiest way to do it is to use the Google Search Console (you should have ticked it off your SEO checklist by now!) and let it do the job. By requesting spiders to crawl and test your website through the tool, you will get insights on the technical aspects you need to improve on your website and even suggestions on making it better. Don’t forget about on-page SEO!

Have you identified your keywords?

Keywords are the basis of SEO, so you need to think like your potential customers would think. Before trying to rank on high-competition generic keywords, do your research on the long-tail keywords and work your way up. Here are some handy online tools for that purpose:

Have you created your XML Sitemap and robots.txt file?

XML sitemaps and robots.txt files help spiders easily navigate through your website when crawling it and understand the structure better. These files should be submitted to the Google Console Search tool for approval. To generate them, you could use generating tools by Google. This is very easy to do and submit, but it is very important. The Yoast SEO plugin can generate the XML sitemap of your whole WordPress website automatically.

Have you analyzed your competitors?

First of all, do you know who your competitors are? If not, you need to find out, and even if you do know, you need to do your homework. Understanding the strategy of your competitors can help you get the best out of it. It is a good place to start when doing your linkbuilding. By tracking where your competitors are getting their most valuable backlinks from, you can work your way around and find similar sources. Here are some web tools we use regularly: